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The UK's decision to leave the EU means that, for the first time in 40 years, trade policy will return to UK government competence. In the two-year period in which Brexit negotiations take place, the UK government and public attention will inevitably be focused on negotiations with the EU. However, with the UK government's ability to negotiate its own trade deals comes a huge opportunity to achieve a truly progressive trade agenda for Southern countries.

Investment protection provisions - known as 'corporate courts' - are contained in Bilateral Investment Treaties and Free Trade Agreements, both of which are binding agreements between two or more countries. These agreements often contain an Investor-to-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism which allows investors to sue governments in international tribunals if they believe a policy undermines the profitability of their investment.

This briefing is published by War on Want, alongside the Trade Justice Movement, Global Justice Now, Unison, and Friends of the Earth.

Modern trade and investment deals cover almost every aspect of everyday life: from healthcare to environmental and labour standards, and international development. This makes them everybody's business. The UK's arrangements for public and parliamentary engagement with and scrutiny of trade are woefully inadequate and need to be reformed before Brexit takes place.

This briefing is published by War on Want, alongside the Trade Justice Movement, Global Justice Now, Unison, and Friends of the Earth.

Eritrea is one of the most repressive states in the world: no elections since 1993; a crackdown on press freedom; forced labour; arbitrary arrest and detention without trial; indefinite compulsory military conscription; and sexual violence against women and girls.

War on Want believes in decent work and a living wage for all, regardless of immigration status. Only by protecting equal social and labour rights for all workers can we stop a race to the bottom where employers drive down working conditions for everyone.

Migrant workers across the UK face prejudice, abuse and exploitation. In the wake of Brexit, the call to ‘control our borders’ risks being used to not only restrict freedom of movement but to weaken the rights of migrant workers. The rights of workers who are already here, as well as those who come in the future, are at risk.

Right now a racist, anti-immigrant, anti-women sentiment is taking hold. Our partners in the global South have long shown us that building movements from the ground up is key to tackling such injustice. In this edition read about the voices that must be heard in the fight against oppression, plus features on Eritrea, Western Sahara, Palestinian political prisoners and much more.

The UK government has a serious case to answer when UK taxpayers’ money ends up in the coffers of a palm oil company linked to land grabs and labour violations in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It’s a scandal the Department for International Development (DFID) and its private equity arm, CDC, continue to turn a blind eye to the operations of Feronia. Canadian-based agribusiness company Feronia is majority owned by CDC and other European and US development banks.

The UK government is playing a key role in arming repression throughout the Persian Gulf, making a mockery of any commitment to democracy and human rights, according to a new report published by War on Want. From the training of sniper units to the sale of tear gas, and from the delivery of covert surveillance technologies to the provision of public order training, British officials and corporations, working closely together, are complicit in state violence in the Gulf.

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War on Want is happy to be supporting “Curfew”, a contemporary dance production performed by El-Funoun (Palestine) and Hawiyya Dance Company (UK), presented by Arts Canteen. "Curfew" is a thought-provoking contemporary dance production that encourages individuals to self-reflect and take action in front of injustice.